Rail anchor



Patented June 2, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

RAIL ANCHOR.

Application filed August 12, 1924. Serial No. 731,614.

' To all "whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Honario i. GILLMOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Anchors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for resisting the longitudinal creeping movement of railroad rails. Such devices are commonly known as rail anchors, anticrcepers creepchecks 'or rail stays; 7

One of the objects of my invention is to produce a device of this character which may be easily and cheaply manufactured from a rolled steel bar.

Other objects of the invention are to produce a device which will be simple in construction, easily applied with the tools ordinarily employed by track workers, and readily removed, when removal is desired, with the same tools; to produce a device which will firmly and reliably grip the rail andretain its position thereon, without being loosened or its efliciency impaired by contraction or expansion of the rail, freezing of the ballast or other effects of'weather conditions, vibrations or anyof the other causes tending to loosen the grip or impair the BillClQJlC-y of devices of this character; and to produce a device whichmay be repeated ly removed, when desired, from the rail and reapplied to the same or another rail repeatedly and be tight and ellicient in preventing creeping after such repeated removal and reapplication;

In order that my invention may be fully understood, I'have described, as an example, one embodiment thereof in the following specification and shown the same in the accompanying drawing, in which: 7

Figure 1 is an elevation, with the rail in section, Figure 2 a side elevation, with the crosstie in section, showing the device in position, and Figures 3 and 4 are elevations,

with. the rail in section, illustrating the method of applying the device to the rail.

Like characters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The form of rail anchorshown in the drawing consists of a steel rolled bar, the body portion A being arranged to extend transversely beneath, some distance below and out of contact with the base flange B of the rail. The two ends of the barare bent to form a short arm C and a relatively .long arm D, that when the long arm D the latter having an end E formed to engage the under surface of the rail head N at one side of the rail and a sur-' face F formed to engage the upper surface of the rail base flange B at the same side of the rail. The endsurface E and the surface F of the arm D are so formed that the arm I) is adapted to seat within the fishing space between the head and base flange of the rail.

formed and related to the body A and the device is in its unstressed condition the upper portion of the arm C will come Within the plane of the vertical edge of the base flange B, and when the device is in final position upon the rail, and subject to the stresses set up in th device in applying it to the rail, thearm (I will project slightly above the base flange B and engage the upper corner G of'the base flange B. Either face H of the body A may be engaged with a tie I. The curved portions K andL' of the .bar are formed to provide the clearances necessary for placing the device in operative position. The corners of the upper portion of thearm D are rounded at M, either by locally rounding these corners or by giving the upper portion of the bar forming the arm D some curvature, to permit the upper end of the arm D to be brought closer to the center plane of the railwhile being applied, and facilitate application of the device to the rail.

In applying the rail anchor to a rail the body A is placed underneath therail with the rail anchor inclined to the vertical, so that the arm D may be brought at its upper end close to the'web of the rail at one side and the upper corner of the arm C will then be slightly beyond the edge of the rail base flange B at the other side of the rail. The position of the rail anchor will then be about as shown in Figure 3. The arm- C'is then raised to a position projecting above the rail base B, and the rail anchor can then be brought to a vertical position with the rail base B loosely embraced. The rail anchor is then moved longitudinally on the rail until the body A has one of its faces H in contact with a tie I. Angular movement of therail anchor inrelation to the rail will then bring the rail anchor to the position illustrated in Figure 4-, with the end E of the arm D beginning to engage the under surface of the head N of the rail, the portion F of the arm Dengaging the upper corner of the base,

The short arm C is of such length, and so i ing the arm D into the fishing space betweenthe head N and base flange B, and directed against the end: of the arm C downwardly;

ihe rail anchor is in. this manner forced to move angnlarly and transversely upon the rail untilthe operative position shown in Figure 1 is reached. lVhen in this posi'-. tion the varm D. is wedged; securely in the fishing space between the head and base of the rail, and th arm C and; the body A have been forced to assume a form and' rel'ation,

to the arm 1) differing from that found in the rail anchor in its initial unstressed condition, whereby the arm Q, by its engagement with the upper corn'erG of the base flange B, enertsa strong gripping pressure upon the liLllbftSQ B separable into transverse and vertical"components. The rail is thus firmly gripped by the railanchor. V

The direction in which. the rail tends to creep is indicated by thearrow on Figure 2; Contact of the surface H otthebody A with the tie I prevents forward movement of the rail anchor and the grip of the arm D, wedged into the fishing space at one side, upon the head and base of'the rail at that side and of the arm C-upon the rail base at theother side of the rail'wil'l holdythe rail in place and eifectivelyprevent creeping.

It will readily be seen that the rail anchor described may be; easily and: cheaply ,manufactured from a bar of steel and that itgma-y be applied toa rail with'ease usingonly the usual tools placed in the hands of the least skilled; track mechanics and laborers,

\Vhile I have described in the foregoing specification one form of rail anchor embodying my invention, 1 wish it understood that changes may be made inthe details thereof without departing from thescope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rail anchor comprising a body adapted to bear against across tie and to be out of contact with arail base and end portions disposed so as tozengageai1cl -grip-'the head and base of a rail at one side and" to I exert downward pressure upon the railbase at the other side of-the rail.

2. A one piece anticreepercomprising a bar adapted to engage a tie in oppositionto the tendency of a rail to creep, provider with end arms, one of which is adapted to be wedged in between the head and base of a rail at one side and the otherof; which adapted to exert downward pressure upon therail base at the other side of'the rail.

3. A device for preventing the creeping of rails comprising a body adapted to engage a cross tie, and two arms of unequal length: so disposed that said device may be preliminarily positioned upon a rail and then, by forced angular movementtransversely upon the rail, the longer of said arms may be made to exert gripping pres: sure upwardly upon the head and downwardly upon the base of the rail at one side and, the shorter of said arms be mad to exert downward gripping pressure upon the base at the other side of the rail.

4. An anticreeper comprising a body','a nd upwardly and inwardly extendingarms so arranged that lateral clearance is provided for applying the device toarai l with the body contacting with a crosstieandwith the arms in preliminary engagement with the head at one side and with the upper corners of the base at both sides; of'the rail, and so arranged that the device is movable angularly transversely of the rail: from its position of preliminary engagement into its operative. engaging position and. is thereby forced. into strong gripping engagement with. thehead. and base at oneside andwith the upper corner of the base at the. other side of the rail. s V

5;. A rail. anchor comprising a body and arms extending upwardly substantially in the plane with the body, being so arranged that clearance is provided for applying the device without distortionato va rail with the body extending across below but out of cont-act with the base: and with the arms in preliminary engagement with the head ofthe railat one side and with the upper corners of the rail baseat both sides of tlie rail, the-parts being so positioned and proportioned that upon angular. movement of the device upon the-rail'into its operative position the device-is forced to exert strong downward gripping pressure upon. the rail base at both sides and upward gripping pressure upon the rail head at one sideof the rail. r

6. A11 anticreepercomprising a. body, and end arms formed integrally with the. body and extending upwardly and inwardly to-; ward each other, one of said. arms being formed with a portion adapted. to engage the underside ofthe rail head and to provide clearance for permitting the deviceto be applied: transversely of. the rail intopreliminary position at; right angles with respectto the rail along one face of a cross tie without springingthe arms outwardly with respectv toeach other, thearrangement and proportions of the parts being such that a forcible transverse angular movement ot the device from its preliminaryto .its operative position causes thearms toexert upward gripping pressure upon the rail head at one side and downward gripping pressure upon the rail base at both sides of the rail.

7. A rail anchor comprising a body member engageable with a cross tie, and terminal gripping arms formed with the body member and adapted to engage a rail head at one side and the upper portion of the rail base at both sides of the rail for securing said rail anchor to the rail, said terminal arms being so disposed with relation to each other and said body member as to be tightened upon the rail by movement together angularly in a plane transverse to the rail.

8. An anticreeper comprising a member adapted to engage a cross tie, but not the bottom of a rail base, and bent to form end arms for engaging the head at one side and the top of the rail base at both sides of the rail and to provide interior clearance to permit the preliminary positioning of said anticreeper on the rail, said arms being so disposed in relation to each other as to necessitate dlstortion oi said anticreeper i'or movement thereof from preliminary position to operative engagement.

9. A device for preventing the creeping of rails comprising a body adapted to bear against a cross tie below and out of contact with a rail 'base, an arm wedged in between the head and base of the rail at one side, and a second arm pressing downwardly upon the base at the other side of the rail.

10. A one piece anticreeper comprising a body out of contact with the bottom of a rail when applied in operative position thereto, and end arms substantially in the same plane with the body serving by heavy downward pressure upon the rail base at both sides and by heavy upward pressure upon the rail head at one side of the rail to cause the anticreeper very strongly to grip the rail independently of any pressure on either face of the body longitudinally of upwardly substantially in the planewith the body and serving by direct engagement with the rail head atone side and with the top of the rail base at both sides of the rail to apply pressure thereto for causing the de vice to strongly grip the rail independently of any pressure on either face of the body longitudinally of the rail.

H. G. GILLMOR. 

